PILLARS OF JIU JITSU
Basic understanding of the Pillars of jiu Jitsu and able to demonstrate them during rolling. Here are all ten pillars of Jiu Jitsu.
1. If you’re on top, stay on top until you pass or take the back.
2. Just stand up.
3. Fight in the transitions
4. If you’re on the bottom, put your feet on your
opponent.
5. Keep your spine in a straight line.
6. Elbows in!
7. Position before submission
8. Train to compete whether you want to compete or
not.
9. Practice with intent
10. Always do something.
Some of these pillars may be obvious, some less so, however all of them are important and can have a big impact on your success and progression.
GAME PLANNING
Student has an identifiable system or “game” from both top position and bottom position (and they can identify it)
This system should start standing
This system should be relatively fleshed-out, and should generally follow positional hierarchy
The system should link between multiple guards/ passing positions without sacrificing positional control
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
By “technical knowledge,” we are indicating technical ability to perform a technique on a compliant drilling partner. The individual doesn’t have to be able to perform these techniques in live training, although we’d expect that they can perform a large percentage of them with a relatively good completion rate (<50% of the time against a similarly or lesser-ranked opponent). We’ll discuss this further in the “live training” section.
Start of the Fight
Understands how to begin a match and can perform the following techniques:
BLUE BELT TECHNIQUES
Purple belts should demonstrate a greater understanding and proficiency of these techniques. (Blue belt techniques)
Double leg
Single leg
Collar drag/arm drag Sprawl
Guard pull Ankle Pick
PURPLE BELT TECHNIQUES
Double Pull
Duck Under
Drop Seoi Nage Uchi Mata
Inside / Outside Foot Trips Fireman’s Carry (Kata Guruma)
The student doesn’t need to specialise in takedowns or necessarily have to use them in matches, but they should understand the principles behind them and be able to perform them to a high degree of proficiency.
PASSING
Understanding advanced variations of all basic pass positions, including:
BLUE BELT TECHNIQUES
Purple belts should demonstrate a greater understanding and proficiency of these techniques. (Examples available in Blue Belt Blueprint)
Breaking closed guard Knee slide & leg weave Double under
Leg drag
Torreando
PURPLE BELT TECHNIQUES
Over Under Pass
Again, the focus here is on a greater depth of understanding. The passing requirements are largely the same as blue belt, but we want to see connections between different passes and greater technical depth.
GUARD
Can perform a variation or variations of basic sweeps and submissions from guards (or a variation(s) of these guards)
BLUE BELT TECHNIQUES
Purple belts should demonstrate a greater understanding and proficiency of these techniques. (Examples available in Blue Belt Blueprint)
Basic guard retention concepts Collar & sleeve
De La Riva
Spider guard / Lasso
Butterfly guard
X-guard/ Single leg X
Half guard
Closed guard - Whizzer Grip / Brabo Grip
PURPLE BELT TECHNIQUES
Reverse De La Riva
50/50
Brazilian Dental Floss
Lapel Guard Overview
Using The Inversion To Defend Guard
SUBMISSIONS
The submissions that the student is working on should fit seamlessly with their game plan:
BLUE BELT TECHNIQUES
Purple belts should demonstrate a greater understanding and proficiency of these techniques. (Examples available in Blue Belt Blueprint)
Triangle
Arm bar from mount / closed guard (see closed guard)
Kimura
Omoplata
Cross choke w/lapels from Mount / Closed Guard (see closed guard) / Back
Rear naked choke
Basic ankle lock
PURPLE BELT TECHNIQUES
Lapel Wrap Chokes
Kimura Trap
Knee Bar / Toe Hold
The individual doesn’t need in-depth knowledge of all these submissions, we just want to see the student delving into more advanced areas. It’s fine if the student seems to have a greater focus on back attack variations, for instance, with little focus on leg locks. The Purple belt is about honing into areas where the student is more capable.
ESCAPES
Understands and can demonstrate basic controls and escapes
BLUE BELT TECHNIQUES
Purple belts should demonstrate a greater understanding and proficiency of these techniques. (Examples available in Blue Belt Blueprint)
MOUNT
Side control Back control
PURPLE BELT TECHNIQUES
Knee / On Belly
Scarf Hold
North / South
LIVE APPLICATIONS
Demonstrates an ability to defend/maintain guard reasonably well against individuals of the same age/weight/ general skill level
Usually (+80% of the time) avoids basic white belt errors:
Passing on the knees
Head below hips while passing (bad posture) Hugging partner in bad positions (mount, side control, half guard)
Using “bad Jiu Jitsu,” or techniques that work on white belts and no one else (e.g. digging elbows into thighs in closed guard to open)
Generally (+60% of the time) avoids intermediate-level errors, for example:
Accepting bad positions
Exposing the back/turtling
Sacrificing position for unlikely submission attempts Consistently achieves positional dominance when training against individuals with less experience but similar demographic status.
Provides a challenging roll against individuals with more experience (experienced blue belts/newish purple belts), particularly if that person is a similar age/weight/level of fitness.
Demonstrates consistent work towards improvement in sparring.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA
Other criteria to consider when thinking of promoting a student to blue belt.
Ideally, we encourage all students to experience competition at the local level before promotion
Is a good training partner to others— not likely to injure/bully other students
Is able to receive feedback and demonstrates attempts at growth/development
At least 16 years old (turning 17 during that same calendar year), but only under exceptional circumstances— most of the time, the athlete should be at least 18.
At least 1.5 - 2 years between blue and purple belt with consistent training, barring extenuating circumstances:
✓ Winning or placing at one of the major world- level competitions (e.g. Pan Ams, Brasilieros, Worlds, Europeans, Abu Dhabi Worlds, etc.)
✓ Consistently able to win or place well at national or regional-level competitions.
Students above blue belt should demonstrate a generally good level of fitness and the ability to train unimpeded for at least a 1.5-2 hour class with moderate intensity, barring injury or time off.